TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Despite damages, snowbirds coming to support beaches hit hard.
When you drive through beach communities along Florida's West Coast, you will see the ravages of our devastating hurricane season. Still, if you look past the destruction, you'll also see people returning to their slice of paradise.
"What was it like when you came home?" ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska asked Pat Murphy.
"It was upsetting, it was devastating, it was tough," Murphy, a snowbird from North Dakota, said.
"I'm very fortunate because it is elevated. I didn't have any water damage on the main floor, so there was a lot of cleanup, landscaping, and rebuilding of the storage unit. But for the most part, the house is intact," Murphy said.
"What's the feeling like around here compared to last Christmas?" Paluska asked.
"You know, everybody's a little bit traumatized, but I would say spirits are pretty darn good for what most people have been through. People I speak to are positive. They're trying to rebuild, and it's a process that isn't easy, and they're working through it. And, you know, it's expensive and painful, but you'll see way more smiles than you do tears," Murphy said.
Paluska interviewed a mom of three enjoying a quiet day on the beach. Lindsey Hanson said it is a family tradition.
"Normally, we go surf, but the waves are too calm," Hanson said.
"You probably could have come to a different beach with less destruction, right?" Paluska asked.
"Yeah, but we love Sunset Beach. It's such a nice, cute little beach," she said. "There's a way; there's more people now than when we last came out. And when we last came out, it was, like, I said, a month ago. It was probably a much nicer day. And there was, we were, like, the only people."
"You are a snowbird?" Paluska asked Blake Jeffery
"Yep," he said. "When was your first day back after the storm?" Paluska asked.
"We left on Thanksgiving and got here the day after," Jeffery said.
"What was that like?"
Jeffery paused, choking up a little. He watched the storm on the news, but seeing it in person was too much.
"It was emotional. We were very thankful that our place was here, even though we didn't have power," Jeffery said. "The businesses that are back need business. Obviously, we try to stick just along the coast for the most part when we got to eat, to try to support them. There's a lot that aren't, but there's a lot that are back. And you know what? The beach is beautiful."
Locals, tourists, and snowbirds know life will never be the same as before the storm, but Sunset Beach is too special to abandon.
"Love it, love the area, love the beach, love the weather. You know, why go anywhere else?" Murphy said.
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